1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automated, self service vending machines, and more specifically to a machine which provides an optimum temperature and humidity controlled environment for the storage of cigars. The machine dispenses cigars singly, but provides for the purchase of multiple cigars through an automated currency acceptor and/or bank card reader. Cigars are stored in vertically disposed stacks within the humidor portion of the machine, which provides for the separate storage of several different brands and/or types of cigars. The cigars are handled by an arm which picks up cigars singly from the desired stack, and conveys them to a dispenser. The present machine assures purchasers that the smoking materials purchased therefrom, are of the highest quality due to the controlled storage environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vending machines for various articles, including tobacco products such as cigarettes, have been known for quite some time. However, cigarettes have been determined to be hazardous to the health of the smoker, and accordingly restrictions on the sale and use of cigarettes have been enacted throughout the country. This includes the location and environment of cigarette vending machines.
Accordingly, many smokers have turned to other types of tobacco products, which are not so heavily restricted. In the past, cigar sales have been relatively low in comparison to cigarettes, but with the restrictions placed upon cigarette sales and usage, cigars are enjoying an increase in sales. While the smoking of cigars is still restricted in many areas, they are not subject to the sales restrictions imposed upon cigarettes by the Food and Drug Administration.
Thus, the machine vending of cigars is permissible in many areas, unlike the situation with cigarettes. Nevertheless, the machine vending of cigars has never been developed, as cigars are relatively fragile and must be maintained in a closely controlled environment insofar as their temperature and particularly their humidity is concerned. Heretofore, this has not been possible in a vending machine, and the quality of cigars stored within a vending machine would suffer accordingly. Cigar smokers have been forced to visit a tobacco shop or other store selling cigars, which stores are of course not open at all hours of every day. Indeed, stores selling cigars, particularly a specific type or brand of cigar, may be few and far between, forcing the smoker to spend a relatively large amount of time in seeking out his desired cigar.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a cigar vending machine, which stores cigars therewithin in a closely controlled environment of temperature and humidity. A discussion of the prior art known to the inventors, and its distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,382,350 issued on Aug. 14, 1945 to Nicholas Testi describes a Cigarette Dispenser, comprising a cylindrical housing holding a plurality of cigarettes. Humidifying means is disclosed, but no mechanized control of the humidity is provided, and no temperature control is provided. The device is intended to be a household article, and as such, no provision is made for accepting currency in the Testi dispenser. Moreover, the cigarettes stored therein are stored in a single compartment, and thus cannot be separated by type and brand, as provided for cigars in the multiple compartments of the present vending machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,930 issued on Feb. 22, 1977 to Ralph V. Swainson describes a Humidor comprising a conventional bucket-shaped container with a lid which may be sealed to the upper edge of the container. The lid includes a water reservoir and spray nozzle, activated by depressing a flexible dome in the lid. The device is not so much a humidifier as a moisturizer, as the water spray is in liquid rather than vapor form. In any event, the device is not automatically operated and cannot control the humidity or temperature within a closely controlled range, as provided by the present machine. No automated dispensing is disclosed, nor is any means provided for the collection of money from a purchaser nor for the separation of different types or brands of articles within the container, all of which features are provided by the present cigar vending machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,353 issued on Oct. 23, 1984 to Joseph L. Levasseur describes a Vendor Control System, comprising an electromechanical circuit for accepting money from a purchaser and vending the selected product. Levasseur is silent regarding the incorporation of temperature and humidity controls with any machine with which his system is used, or the electromechanical conveyance system used with the present machine to convey the cigar(s) to a purchaser.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,378 issued on Jul. 1, 1986 to Harlan R. Giacomo describes a Management Information System And Associated Vending Control Device, comprising an electrical circuit providing much the same functions as the Levasseur circuit described immediately above. While Giacomo provides additional features and functions, the disclosure is silent regarding any provision for humidity and temperature control, mechanical vending means, or other operations provided by the present cigar vending machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,842 issued on Nov. 17, 1987 to Gus A. Guadagnino describes an Apparatus For Dispensing Elongated Cylindrical Objects Such As Pencils. The device includes a single moveable compartment therein, which is moved to a dispensing position to drop an article through a slot by actuating a coin acceptance slide. No multiple compartments for containing or dispensing different types or brands of articles is disclosed, nor is any means of controlling the temperature and humidity of the articles within the container, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,876 issued on Aug. 29, 1989 to William A. Moore et al. describes an Article Vending Machine Employing Unique Robotic Arm And The Robotic Arms Employed Therein. The Moore et al. robotic system uses a circular drum containing the product to be vended (i. e., video cassettes), and is not operable in an orthogonal X-Y matrix of different products, as provided by the robotic dispensing system of the present machine. In any event, Moore et al. are silent regarding other details of the vending machine, particularly relating to temperature and humidity control, which are required in the present cigar vending machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,698 issued on Jul. 2, 1991 to Munroe Chirnomas describes an Ice Cream Vending Machine, including means for keeping frozen individual cups of ice cream therein, dispensing the cups individually, removing their lids, warming them, and placing selected toppings thereon. No humidity control of the contents of the machine is disclosed, and the dispensing system is not at all similar to that used in the present machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,784 issued on May 4, 1993 to Wilbur Schwartzendruber describes a Vending Machine With Monitoring System, wherein the system reports on the quantity of goods remaining in each of up to several machines. The machines also report at least one type of jam or blockage, with the system providing a signal to the machine(s) to unblock the blockage. No temperature or humidity control means is disclosed, and the disclosed dispensing system is not similar to that used with the present cigar vending machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,139 issued on Aug. 31, 1993 to Munroe Chirnomas describes a Package Vending Machine similar to the '698 patent to the same inventor discussed hereinabove. The '139 patent, however, discloses a thermally insulated freezer compartment with at least one lid or top embodiment similar to that used in the present invention, and a cable system for lifting the lid which is also similar to that used in the present invention. The Chirnomas '139 patent also describes the use of a vertical robotic arm operating on two orthogonal tracks, with the arm being positionable in an X-Y coordinate pattern over the freezer compartment to select a frozen article from any given area of the freezer. Although the cigar storage apparatus of the present invention employs a generally known X-Y coordinate positionable robotic arm, Chirnomas teaches away from the use of such device as a humidor to add moisture to the stored product. Such moisture addition is not desirable in an environment which is maintained below freezing, and would reduce the efficiency and operability of the device of the Chirnomas '139 patent. On the other hand, the addition of moisture to provide a predetermined level of humidity at a given temperature above freezing, is desirable in the storage of cigars to maintain their freshness, and is provided for in the present cigar dispensing machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,150 issued on Sep. 14, 1993 to Rene Grandi describes a Selective Reheating Device For Food Products, wherein one of a plurality of frozen food products may be remotely selected and manipulated into a movable heating area for cooking or heating. The product is dispensed when heating is completed. Grandi is silent regarding any currency acceptance means for automated purchase of the food products within the machine. No humidor means is disclosed by Grandi, as the Grandi device is not suited for use as a cigar storage and vending machine, as provided by the present machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,856 issued on Oct. 4, 1994 to Ronald W. Laidlaw describes a Vending Machine For Individual Cigarettes, containing a plurality of bins with loose cigarettes contained therein. A separate coin slot is provided for each bin, rather than a single currency acceptor and internal selection means for the different products contained within the machine. Laidlaw is silent regarding any means of keeping the cigarettes fresh, as provided by the humidifier means of the present cigar vending machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,980 issued on Sep. 19, 1995 to Ronald W. Laidlaw describes a Coin Operated Vending Machine For Vending Individual Cigarettes From A Cigarette Manufacturer's Container. The device of this patent is a variation upon the device of the '856 patent to the same inventor and, as discussed immediately above, has similar disadvantages.
U.S. Pat. No. D-110,497 issued on Jul. 12, 1938 to Philip Rich illustrates a design for a Vending Machine, comprising a tall rectilinear cabinet having selection controls in the front thereof, below a transparent front panel. No internal mechanism providing for temperature and humidity control, or the selective dispensing of products contained therein, is apparent in the Rich design.
U.S. Pat. No. D-116,820 issued on Sep. 26, 1939 to Lue O. Garner et al. illustrates a design for a Vending Machine, apparently including two separate coin boxes on one side thereof and a transparent panel in the front of the machine. A circular distribution device appears to be disposed within the cabinet. No internal mechanism providing for temperature and humidity control is apparent in the design, and the circular distribution device is unlike the mechanism used in the present machine.
U.S. Pat. No. D-256,376 issued on Aug. 12, 1980 to William B. MacKrell illustrates a design for a Beverage Dispensing Machine having an upper portion with an access and selection panel and a planar lower portion. No means for the maintenance of the internal temperature and humidity of the machine, or for the selective dispensing of cigars, is apparent.
U.S. Pat. No. D-293,608 issued on Jan. 5, 1988 to Walter G. Fitzgerald et al. illustrates a design for a Humidor comprising a generally cylindrical container. As in the other designs discussed above, no mechanism providing for the automated control of temperature and humidity, or for the selective dispensing of cigars, is apparent.
British Patent Publication No. 2,142,318 published on Jan. 16, 1985 to De La Rue Systems Ltd. describes Banknote Handling Machines, and more specifically a particular mechanism for manipulating currency within the machine or distributed from the machine. No relationship is seen to the present cigar vending machine, other than that the present machine may utilize certain automated components in its currency acceptance system.
British Patent Publication No. 2,192,180 published on Jan. 6, 1988 to the Coca-Cola Company describes a Beverage Can Vending Machine having a curved, translucent front panel which is intended to resemble a beverage can. No internal mechanism providing for control of temperature and humidity, or for the selective dispensing of articles therefrom, is disclosed.
In addition, a brochure from the Fastcorp company illustrates their F631 Frozen Merchandiser, a vending machine for ice cream products and the like. The machine utilizes a robotic pickup arm to lift the products from a freezer bin. While the robotic arm is generally similar in function to that used in the present invention, the machine disclosed does not provide any heating or humidifying means.
Finally, page eleven of the 1997 Vigilant Humidor Product Catalog, copyright 1996, discloses Guardian 20 and Guardian 70 humidifiers which may be suitable for use with the present cigar vending machine. No vending means, cigar storage means therewith, or auxiliary water supply or heating means is disclosed.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.